Gentlemen
by darkestboy
Summary: It's Christmas and the Master has broken free from prison with the help of a fellow Time Lord, bent on wreaking vengeance on the Doctor. Set between The Daemons and Day Of The Daleks.


**Name:** Gentlemen  
**Characters:** 3rd Doctor, Jo Grant, The Brigadier, Sergeant Benton, Mike Yates, The Master, Meddling Monk  
**Synopsis:** It's Christmas and the Master has broken free from prison with the help of a fellow Time Lord, bent on wreaking vengeance on the Doctor. As familiar monsters cause havoc at the UNIT Christmas party, the Master is unaware of another surprise looming in the shadows. Set between _The Daemons_ and _Day Of The Daleks_.

December 24th, 1971.

Since his arrival on Earth, the Master would on occasion find himself curious of many of the customs that the human race took to their hearts. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and deaths were familiar to Time Lords. Events such as Christmas and the significance that they held, not quite as much.

The Master had mused that there was many ideal ways of spending the holiday known as Christmas but he had banked that spending the wretched ritual behind bars was not the best way of doing it, especially in a prison where the most dire of decorations were on display. This place lacked class in more ways than one.

He had been in prisons before, ones far trickier than this one, and had a far easier time in escaping from them all. He had been confined to this one for six months and he was having more difficulty than he cared to admit in breaking out of it.

Looking out his window on the island that he had been imprisoned on, he saw the entire ground covered in snow as far as the eye could see. It moved him, not because of its symbolism of the festive period that he was forced to overhear his oppressors wax lyrical about but because there was something in the air. He could taste the faintest of traces and if his suspicions were later confirmed, he too would have a reason to get into the Christmas mood.

"I could be free," the Master thought aloud, looking out his window.

The officer watching him snickered. "In your dreams, mate," the officer had burst the Master's bubble. "No-one leaves this place."

_Then you are a fool my good man, aren't you?_

The Master was tempted to retort but it would be to no use. Outside of the bars that boxed him in, the Master found to his general annoyance that overweight and not quite bright guards like Stevenson didn't fear him as they should do. This meant that the Master could threaten annihilation until he was hoarse with rage but still the idiot guard looming outside his cell would scoff at his threats. Then he heard a tremor, shaking the entire island. It was small but it startled the rotund guard watching him. Stevenson looked at the Master suspiciously.

"What was that?" Stevenson looked at the Master accusingly. The Master shrugged his shoulders and concealed a grin. "Did you do that?"

"How could I possibly do anything, Stevenson?" the Master smirked. "After all, I'm only full of hot air. Isn't that you lot think of me?"

Stevenson gave the Master a withering look before heading to pour himself another cup of coffee. As the Master enjoyed the few seconds he genuinely had alone, he then wondered if the Doctor had also felt the tremor. The Master smiled and realised that of course his old enemy must have done.

On one of the few moments that he had to himself, Mike Yates walked around the UNIT grounds quietly thinking to himself. He had had an interesting first year on the job and for the most part, he had felt he had risen to the many challenges that had been put in front of him. His rapport with his men, the Brigadier and Benton made him feel at ease. The Doctor constantly intrigued him and he had also taken a shine to Jo Grant, though he often wondered if the feelings were mutual.

"Morning, Captain, biting cold, isn't it?" a blond soldier named Marcus Ret had said to him. Mike smiled at him thinly before heading back inside. It had been getting a tad chilly in the snow covered ground.

For a second, Mike had felt a tremor himself but it was so brief that he didn't pay as much heed to it as he normally would've done.

"For something so small, why did everything fall off?" Josephine Grant had asked as she found herself picking up equipment that had fallen down. Then she noticed a look on the Doctor's face. She had seen it enough times before. "What is it?"

"Sorry?" The Doctor was miles away, looking at the TARDIS forlornly.

"That look, Doctor." Jo eyed him curiously. "You always do that when something's amiss."

"I suppose I do, Jo," the Doctor hummed as he faced her. "But it's gone now. It might be just a tremor, nothing more. Still, I can't helping wondering -"

"- Wondering what?" Mike Yates's entry into the laboratory had taken the Doctor out of his train of thought. Mike noted the frustrated look on the older man's face. "Should I have knocked?"

Mike took a moment to notice that the laboratory was covered with some lavish Christmas decorations. After some elbowing, the Doctor had succumbed to Jo's determination to spread some festive cheer through pricey decorations. She had gone slightly overboard.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor shrugged the nagging feeling off. "It'll come to me. And what do we owe this pleasure, Captain Yates?"

"UNIT Christmas party," Mike said, handing the Doctor a leaflet. "In case you decide to come along."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," Jo interrupted, before giving the Doctor a sheepish look. "Sorry."

"She has a point though, Doctor," Mike murmured. "You're not exactly the most sociable person some of the time. Might be good for you to meet more UNIT personnel. Build contacts. And we could use a party after the year we've had."

"Is this party or a sales conference?" the Doctor asked quizzically. "Look, Mike, while I'm fond of your good self, the Brigadier, Benton and Miss Grant, I'm not exactly flavour of the month and if I have to spend more than five minutes with someone like Chinn again ... I don't think I could stand it."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind." Mike turned to leave before taking one last look at Jo. "I'll see you there, Miss Grant?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Jo smiled as Mike left. She was then taken aback by the coy look on the Doctor's face.

"He likes you," the Doctor smirked.

"Behave." Jo swatted gently at his elbow before giving him a look of her own, a pleading one. Before she opened her mouth, the Doctor sighed and headed for the TARDIS.

"I'll get my best jacket," he said, admitting defeat, impressed that all his young companion had to do was give him a certain look. There was also the off-chance that the Christmas party in question could actually be fun. Stranger things had happened to him.

Benton had been sitting patiently in the office of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for a good twenty minutes. The Brigadier was conversing with Elizabeth Shaw, a former employee of UNIT, who had since gone off to better things. The fact that she kept in fairly regular touch pleased the Brigadier more than he would let on. Benton knew better not to pry too much however.

"How is she?" Benton asked as the Brigadier hung up and looked over at the young sergeant. "Miss Shaw, I mean?"

"Very busy," the Brigadier said. "Which is why we won't be seeing her at the Christmas party this year. She says her latest work has taken quite a turn."

"That's good," Benton smiled. "Shame she can't be there."

"It is," the Brigadier nodded. "Now, what about our work?"

"I checked with the governor of the Fortress Island prison," Benton assured him. "The Master is still under lock and key. Annoying some of the prison staff but essentially in no danger of posing a threat to anyone."

"Well, he was always good at getting under people's skin," the Brigadier muttered. "As long as he's secured, that's one less thing to worry about."

"We've still got the Christmas party tonight," Benton reminded the Brigadier. "The only thing we have to worry there is someone singing "Jingle Bells" out of tune."

"Why did I agree to this party again?" the Brigadier asked before dismissing Benton and ending up with no answer.

A while had passed and the Master was bored. He thought that winding up Stevenson would be a good way of keeping him amused.

"You know this Christmas Eve would go a lot faster if we actually talked to one another," the Master smiled at Stevenson. "I'm quite an excellent conversationalist."

"You know anything about the World Cup?" Stevenson asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice. He was unable to abide the Master.

"I'm afraid I do not," the Master admitted. He had forgotten how the British were fixated on their football.

"Then shut up," Stevenson snapped lifting up his paper so he didn't have to look at the renegade Time Lord again.

"I tried," the Master mused before sitting down in his cell. "Don't know why I even bothered. The human race is made up of weak, stupid men who have no real concept of true power."

"Is that what you were trying to achieve?" Stevenson threw the paper down. "Power? Is that why so many people died?"

"People die all the time, Stevenson," the Master bluntly put it. "You walk around like time bombs only needing the smallest of nudges before going boom. Believe me I know. I've nudged enough of your kind during my spell on this regressive planet."

"I'll show you nudge," Stevenson had finally lost it with the Master. The callousness that had etched from the man's dialogue, the cold and calculated opinion that he had expressed saw Stevenson go against professional conduct.

Stevenson had gotten inside the cell and slammed the Master against the wall but the Master didn't look a bit intimidated, which angered Stevenson all the more.

"Do you think this scares me young man?" The Master amused by Stevenson all the more.

"I am your officer."

"You are an idiot, sir," the Master smiled. "If you think you have true power over me."

"You're in this prison, I only work here," Stevenson snapped. "Who do you think has the power?"

"Right now, I think that would be me." A middle aged man appeared from nowhere, dressed in ragged robes and holding a gun. Stevenson let go of the Master and faced the stranger.

"And who are you supposed to be — Friar Tuck?"

Those were the last words Stevenson uttered before he was slumped to the floor of the cell dead from the blast he had received to the chest. The Master looked at the stranger as he slowly stepped out of the cell to face him.

"Mind telling me who you are?" the Master enquired, cautiously shaking the hand of the stranger who appeared to be springing him from the big house.

"I'm known as the Monk," the man took the Master's hand to shake. "And you and I have some business to discuss."

"Someone will be here in a minute," the Master said, wistfully. "You didn't exactly make the most subtle of entrances."

"No-one is coming," the Monk smiled, before throwing a familiar-looking device at the Master. The tissue compression eliminator. "Thought you might miss this."

"I don't appreciate others touching my personal belongings," the Master said before looking at the other Time Lord with a mad glint in his eye. "Tell me why I shouldn't use this on you."

"I just saved your life," the Monk said, affronted. "You should be thanking me."

"I was in no danger that I recall off," the Master reminded him as he pointed the TCE in the Monk's direction. "No real danger anyways. So, why shouldn't I use this on you?"

"Because we need each other," the Monk reasoned. "Especially if you want to get off this island before anyone else comes looking for you."

The Master considered this for a moment. This mystery man had a good point he reckoned. If the Master didn't act fast, then he'd probably still be stuck in the prison with remaining guards or even the Doctor if he was lucky making sure he didn't escape this island. The Master also reckoned that whatever the man's motives for rescuing him were would reveal themselves soon enough.

"Well, how do we get out of here?" the Master asked. "My TARDIS isn't even here."

"I have something to show you then," the Monk smiled as he began to walk away. "Follow me."

The Master sighed as he walked out of the cell. Making his way out of the prison, it amused the Master that there wasn't a single person to stop him. No-one. No guards, no visitors, soldiers, not even the cleaners. Apart from him and the other man, it was like the place was completely abandoned.

Stepping outside for the first time in months, the Master lifted out his hands to feel some of the snow trickling down from the sky. The ground was covered in it. It was chilly, not exceptionally so for December but the cold filled the Master with a sense of liberation that he hadn't felt for the last couple of months.

Both the Master and the Monk had been walking for a good twenty minutes, keeping away from the roads on the off chance of being spotted by anyone. The Monk had hoped that by the time someone had visited the prison that both him and the Master would be gone long enough for anything to be effectively done about it.

A few miles into a forest and there she stood. The Master smiled and stroked the vessel. The vessel was the only thing he had missed outside of his own freedom for the last while. The Monk gave him a bemused look. The Master turned towards the other man.

"The keys, if you please." The Master smiled a dark grin, pointing the TCE at the other Time Lord again. "Not that I'm not grateful, of course, for your assistance."

"Of course," the Monk responded warily but gave him the keys, eager to get into the other Time Lord's good books. When the Master opened the door, the Monk made sure he went in first. The Master didn't attempt to stop him in the slightest.

Closing the door, the Master put the TCE down for a moment and looked at the other Time Lord. He realised that he knew him after all. He had never met the Monk before but he had known of the other Time Lord's reputation. The Master also had a feeling that he knew why the Monk had decided to pay him a visit at the prison.

"I've heard of you, Monk," the Master smiled. "That's your name, isn't it?"

"Yes," the Monk said simply. No point lying to the Master now, not if he wanted his help.

"This is about the Doctor, isn't it?" the Master, taking the Monk's smile as confirmation. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not a petty minded man," the Monk smiled. "But bringing the Doctor down a few notches wouldn't go amiss. Will you help me?"

Now it was the Master's turn to smile.

Inside his own TARDIS, the Doctor needed some time away from Jo. As fond as he was of the woman, her needling about the Christmas party to which she had persuaded him to attend was becoming a bit much.

Standing in silence in the console room for a small bit, the Doctor had thought of some past Christmases he had celebrated such as the time him and Susan had brought Leonardo da Vinci to the present day or when him, Polly and Ben had been imprisoned merely for mentioning the word. The Doctor conceded that his past celebrations of the event were rarely dull.

Heading into one of the rooms — his own private quarters, the Doctor looked at some of the clothing he had acquired over the years. There were the jackets that he had worn in his first incarnation, the pants of his second one, a Prydonian robe that had seen better days, even a long woolly scarf that one day he could see himself wearing. None of the above were really appropriate for a Christmas party or his current temperament so he ignored them.

He had realised that this version of himself seemed to be fond of capes and velvet smoking jackets, to the point where many of the Brigadier's men had called him something of a dandy. The term didn't bother him but he did find it strange that his attire was at times a discussion point for UNIT's supposed finest.

Ignoring the comments he had heard, he pulled a black cape, purple smoking jacket and white frilly shirt with a smart black pants and shoes as he looked at himself in the mirror, pleased as punch.

"Perfect," the Doctor smiled with satisfaction. "Dandy indeed."

However the smile disappeared when the TARDIS suddenly experienced a tremor of it's own, nearly knocking him back. The feeling of déjà vu also crept up on the Doctor again as Jo's voice interrupted his thoughts. He stepped out of the TARDIS, locking the ship shut.

"Are you ready?" Jo asked, before eyeing his outfit with some amusement. "Well, the jacket's different."

"I'll have you know, it's my best one," the Doctor said as he looked at what she was wearing herself. "You're looking lovely yourself, Jo."

"It isn't too much?" Jo asked. Her hair was pinned up in a stylish bun with strands sticking out in a meticulous fashion. She was dressed in a black Chanel dress, backless and wore comfortable but expensive looking heels. She was stunning.

"Not at all," an equally smart and polished looking Mike Yates said as he stepped into the laboratory, wearing a nice tuxedo. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you, Mike," Jo smiled, before teasing the Captain. "And the Doctor?"

"Um." Mike blushed a little before looking at the amused Time Lord. "Is that a new jacket?"

"How quick of you to notice," the Doctor smiled. "Shall we head?"

"This is going to be a fun evening," Jo said as she led both men out of the laboratory.

"Yes," the Doctor said, looking around warily. "Can't wait to see how events turn out."

Rene had been on his cigarette break five minutes too long but he figured as he was head chef, he could do whatever the hell he wanted to — within reason. He wasn't blessed with the most productive of staff either. Many of them were notoriously lazy and prone to violating kitchen health rules unless Rene was breathing down their necks.

This was the one time of the year however that he wanted more than anything to be mingling with the crowd and not stuck in the kitchen drilling his cooks to get a move on while often clueless waiting staff handed out food to often fussy guests. UNIT did unfortunately attract a certain class of clientele and simplistic food was a foreign concept to some of the people in charge.

"Rene, we need you in here," Angelica, his second in command and the only other professional shouted at him.

"In a minute," Rene said, stubbing out the cigarette but before he could head back inside, he screamed a murderous yelp and shrunk to the ground.

"I find this device most fascinating," the Monk said as he picked up the protesting chef and headed into the back kitchen with the Master.

"Rene?" Angelica looked at the shrunken man with disbelief all over her face before staring at the Master with a look of horror and pleading. "Don't."

The Master shrank her fast and the Monk grabbed her before she could run. The three remaining cooks stood there in shock as the Monk stunned the one who tried to make a dash for the door to the reception area.

As Rene and Angelica were dumped into a breadbin that was turned sideways to prevent them from escaping, the Master smiled at the terrified waiter who had just come in and witnessed the shrinkings. "I am the Master and you will obey me," the Master said to the young man. "Is that clear?"

"Yes," the young man replied, under the Time Lord's influence.

"That's a good lad," the Master smiled, giving him a plate filled with mince pies, the only festive thing that seemed to be on the menu. "Take these out to the guests. No-one is to come in here, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

The Master swiped a mince pie as the other cooks had been shrunk and locked away by the Monk. "Now what do we do?" the Monk asked. "Prepare Christmas dinner?"

"You're the one who wants to ruin the Doctor after his fiddled with your TARDIS," the Master said as he peeked out to see the growing crowd outside. "I say we head into the laboratory and take his."

"Won't it be hard to get past the reception area to his laboratory unnoticed?" the Monk said, noticing the crowd as well before the Master shut the door, separating them from the partygoers.

"Then we'll need a distraction," the Master said as another tremor came and went in the space of a second, before pulling out another device from his pockets. "And I think I know to make one."

The Monk's eyes lit up with curiosity.

The Doctor nearly spilled his wine when the tremor hit the reception. That was the third time already. For a couple of seconds there was darkness and he could've sworn that someone darted past him in a hurry. Then the lights went back on and the Doctor still looked worried.

"Something the matter, Doctor?" Jo asked, pulling her focus from Benton and some secretary he had been flirting with to meet her mentor's gaze. Mike had been in a corner with the Brigadier and Chinn, clearly not enjoying the flow of conversation with the odious latter man.

"Yes," the Doctor said grimly. "Something's not right, Jo. These tremors are happening too often."

Jo looked around, before pulling the Doctor back into a corner. When he had that look on his face, Jo knew well to take it seriously. If the Doctor was worried about something, there was usually good reason behind it.

"Should we tell the Brigadier?"

"Not yet," the Doctor said. "I'm just going to slip out for a minute, see if I'm not being paranoid."

"Be careful," Jo said, the sentiment falling on deaf ears as the Doctor slipped away with such deftness, it was as if he had never been at the party. Well, almost everyone didn't notice.

"Where's he off to?" Benton asked, his right hand holding the secretary's purse and his left one his eggnog.

"Something he forgot." Jo looked on at the door the Doctor left from.

"The man's a workaholic," Benton smiled. "I'll get you some eggnog."

Jo smiled and took the eggnog from Benton as she noticed a different man handing out plates of food. He was stocky built but unrecognisable from some of the cooking and waiting staff she had seen earlier on in the day. She decided to go over to him and see who he was. Being around Benton and his new girlfriend was starting to make her feel like a gooseberry.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and started beeping around the laboratory. All day, these tremors had been different, familiar but unworldly and they were starting to bother him all the more. The more he scanned, the more realised what was wrong.

"I knew it," the Doctor muttered to himself. "I better warn them."

"I was hoping you would," a familiar voice called out to him.

"Impossible." The Doctor turned around and saw the Master standing outside the TARDIS in the laboratory. "What have you done?"

"For once I am innocent, Doctor," the Master smiled. "These cracks in time are not of my doing. Though I have had help in utilising them to my advantage."

"What advantage?" the Doctor asked.

"This one," the Master smiled, pulling out a small, technical-looking device and pressing a red button. It ripped a gaping hole in time and from it sprang a familiar alien.

The Auton recognised the caped man and aimed its weapon protruding from it's hand with the intent to it. The Doctor managed to dodge the bullets and bolted out the door as the Master stared at the Auton in amusement.

"Let the games begin," the Master said, looking at the TARDIS before leaving the laboratory. "Merry Christmas, Doctor."

The Brigadier was growing less and less amused with Chinn as the night progressed. Not even the sound of "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" was enough to drown out the tedium that Chinn emitted. Chinn could sense the growing frustration of the Brigadier and looked at him with annoyance.

"Am I boring you, Alastair?" Chinn asked. Alastair stared at his empty glass and smiled.

"Not at all, I just need a refill," the Brigadier made his excuses as Mike gave him a look that conveyed help but the Brigadier ignored him and made his leave.

Instead of going straight to the table where the bowl of eggnog had been left on, the Brigadier nipped out of the reception and caught Jo on her lonesome out in the hall. They both looked at each other.

"Are you hiding, Miss Grant?" the Brigadier asked her.

"No," Jo smiled while looking at him. "But I take it that you are. Is Chinn giving you a hard time?"

"Something like that," the Brigadier muttered, folding his arms. "The man can be a pest. What about you?"

"I just needed some air," Jo said, pulling up her faux fur coat. "Even cold air."

Both of them headed towards the front door of the building and stepped outside. The snow was getting slightly heavier and despite the cold, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Jo was scanning outside and hadn't realised that the Brigadier was looking at her suspiciously.

The Brigadier broached the question, worried what answer he was going to get in return. "And the Doctor?"

Jo looked at him, knowing the look on his face. It was the one where the Brigadier knew that she was hiding something. Jo didn't bother trying to persuade him that it was all in his head.

"What is it?" he asked.

Before Jo could answer, both of them heard a scuffle in the yard. Glancing at each other for a second, they both ran to where the scuffling was taking place.

Mike held steady to his eggnog, wishing it was something stronger. Thankfully a few senior officers had pulled Chinn away and Mike no longer had to make pleasantries with the dreadful man. Unfortunately at the same time when he was finally free from Chinn's ranting, Jo was nowhere to be seen. Mike had spotted that neither the Doctor nor the Brigadier were around either.

His next instinct would've been to go to Benton but seeing his comrade in the corner with Anita ruled that one out. Mike sighed and swigged the whole eggnog down in one go. A tray appeared out of nowhere for him to leave his empty cup down.

"Another one, sir?" a strange portly man had asked him. Mike did not recognise the man but eyed him suspiciously.

"No thanks," Mike said. "Do I know you?"

"Mort," the man known as the Monk said, extending his hand to Mike. "I'm new here."

"Where's Rene?"

"Had to call in sick," the Monk made his excuses. "Poor thing. He never really was good with caviar. Have a good evening, Mr Yates."

"How did you know my name?"

Before Mike could get a response, the Monk headed back into the kitchen. Mike took the initiative to follow but by the time he went into the kitchen, he saw the back door open. Whoever Mort really was, he was gone. Then Mike heard mewled whimpers and screams and went towards the bread bin.

Opening the bread bin, he saw Rene, Angelica and two others in there including the young waiter who had given him a peculiar look a while before.

"The Master," Mike muttered, before turning to the terrified shrunken people. "We'll fix this. Stay here."

Mike put the bread bin under his arms and ran out the back entrance that Mort had left open for him. He had a feeling that whatever was going on, the Doctor and Jo wouldn't be inside.

The Doctor had managed to lure the Auton outside by no means feat. The Auton had seemed to ignore the Master and was relentless in it's pursuit of him. The Doctor had figured that this was what the Master had wanted.

Unfortunately while the Doctor had been able to dodge most of the blows from the Auton, he now found himself cornered by the creature. The Doctor had picked up a trash can and flung at the Auton but the can was shot down in rapid succession.

"I was afraid you were going to do that," the Doctor sighed before aiming his sonic screwdriver at the creature. The Auton fell down.

"Doctor," Jo caught up with him. The Doctor could see that the Brigadier was not far behind her. Both of them were out of breath by the time they got to him.

"What the blazes?" the Brigadier said, looking at the dead Auton on the snowy ground. "I thought we had seen the last of them."

"That is the least of our problems," the Doctor sighed.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Jo asked, before spotting Mike hurtling towards them with a bread bin under his arm.

"Mike?" the Doctor said.

"The Master, he's back," Mike caught his breath before giving Jo the bread bin. "He's shrunk the kitchen staff."

"Oh God," Jo said as she gave Rene and the terrified kitchen staff a sympathetic look. "We'll fix this."

"I was afraid of that," the Doctor said. "I caught him in my laboratory and then that Auton appeared. The Master sent it to attack me."

"How did he escape?" the Brigadier asked, unimpressed and worried by the news of the Master's presence.

"I don't know, Brigadier," the Doctor said. "I was too busy being attacked by this lump of plastic at the time to ask that question."

"We have to get back inside," Jo said, before looking at the Doctor. "Where was he the last time you saw him?"

"Laboratory," the Doctor said. "He mentioned cracks in time. The tremors I warned you about. I knew there was something behind them."

"Is that how he escaped?" Jo asked. "Slipping through a crack in time?"

"I think I can answer that one," Mike said as he got dubious looks off them all. "He had help."

"How do you know?" asked the Brigadier.

"The reason how I came about finding Rene in the bread bin was because there was a man there," Mike said. "He called himself Mort. I don't know what it was but there wasn't something quite right about him, so I went to have a look in the kitchen and he was gone."

The Doctor gave Mike a pensive stare. The name Mort was familiar to him; it was short for something — Mortimus. The Doctor then realised who Mortimus really was. Instead of answering, the Doctor darted for the building.

"Doctor, an explanation would be nice," the Brigadier yelled as he ran after the Doctor along with Jo and Mike.

The Monk looked from the laboratory window and turned to the Master, who was adding the final touches to his latest gizmo.

"They're coming back," the Monk smiled. "This is so exciting."

"I knew that Auton wouldn't keep him busy for long," the Master sighed as he turned around and looked at the Monk. "I think we should attend to the guests, don't you?"

"Is that thing ready?" the Monk eyed the Master's gadget with suspicion. "What does it do?"

"You'll find out in due course," the Master smiled. "Now, come on. We can't leave our guests in the lurch."

The Master led the way with the Monk following him behind like a faithful servant. The Master had found the situation to his liking. The Monk may have been the one to release him from prison with the desire of getting back at the Doctor but it was the Master who was in control of the situation. Something which he planned to exploit to his utmost advantage.

Benton had stepped out for a walk with the lovely Anita on the promise of ditching the party early and heading back to her place.

"I don't live that far away," Anita had said, tucking herself underneath the sergeant's arm, to which he didn't mind at all. "You could stay the night."

"What do you take me for?" Benton teased. "Miss Tripp, I'm not that sort of man."

Anita giggled and Benton smiled at her before kissing her on the lips. As they parted lips, both could see the Doctor coming towards them along with the Brigadier, Jo and Mike behind him.

"Get back inside," the Doctor said, panting. "We have to warn them."

"Warn who?" Benton asked. "Doctor, what's going on? And why is Miss Grant holding onto a breadbin?"

"We'll explain as we go inside," the Doctor ushered everyone else but stopped Anita. "Not you, Miss Tripp. Go home. You'll be safe there."

"He's right," Benton said, giving her his phone number. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Anita kissed him on the lips and then took her leave. Benton went straight inside, wondering what danger he was going to be placed into now.

Inside the party, Chinn was unimpressed. Not only had the Brigadier left him high and dry but the senior officers he had been talking to had sneaked off as well. However when he saw the next two people enter the reception area, he was more than affronted. He was fearful but not enough to keep quiet.

"Now this isn't much of a Christmas party, is it?" the Master sneered disapprovingly as everyone tensed up in the reception. Only a small handful of people didn't recognise him.

"This is an outrage," Chinn snapped, before pointing to two young soldiers. "Don't just stand there, arrest him!"

The soldiers advanced towards the Master but backed off when he pointed his tissue compression eliminator at them. "Not this time, my dear Mr Chinn."

The Doctor, Jo, Mike, the Brigadier and Benton entered the room. The Brigadier, Mike and Benton had their guns at the ready.

"I wouldn't if I were you," the Monk looked at the soldiers and the Doctor. "It's been a long time."

"I should have known you'd be involved," the Doctor scowled. "Two renegade Time Lords. I didn't know when I was better off."

"I missed you too, Doctor," the Master drawled sarcastically as he looked at Jo. "And Miss Grant. You look gorgeous by the way."

"What do you want?" Jo asked, keeping her composure. The last thing she wanted to do was to let the Master get into her head.

"Good question," the Monk cooed as he gave Jo a lascivious look. "I like her."

Jo looked at him in disgust, a look that she noticed the Doctor had as well.

"Answer her," the Doctor snapped at both Time Lords. "What are you two up to?"

"I don't know - peace on Earth? Goodwill to all man and the like?" the Master sneered at his oldest rival. "Why don't you have a guess?"

"We're not here for your amusement," Chinn spoke up. "You have no right to do this."

"Chinn," the Brigadier muttered. "Be quiet."

"Do as he says," Mike said as Chinn ignored both of them and faced the Master.

"No," Chinn glared at the Master angrily. "This man must be stopped. For god's sake, you're all soldiers, shoot him already."

"You should've listened to the Brigadier," the Monk smiled before shooting Chinn and the soldier who tried to attack him down to the ground. The Doctor looked grim.

"Now much of a Christmas cheer for you. Is it, Doctor?" the Master asked. "My demands are simple. I want your TARDIS, Doctor."

"Out of the question," the Doctor snapped.

"Then you leave me no choice," the Master smiled, before showing him his latest gizmo. "Do you know what this does?"

"I have a feeling that I'm about to find out."

"It opens up parts of time," the Master smiled. "In particular your time. Did you not think that Auton I sent after you seemed familiar?"

The Doctor didn't think of that. To him it had just looked like any old Auton. He hadn't noticed the blue boiler suit that it was wearing and given how much the Master was gloating, he had a nasty feeling of what was coming next.

"And now for my next trick," the Master smiled. The Doctor lunged for him but the Monk managed to shoot the ground in order to keep him.

"You don't know what you're doing," the Doctor protested.

"Actually, Doctor, I'm very aware of what I'm about to do," the Master smiled. "You and this incompetent base have humiliated me for the last time. Doctor, may I reintroduce you to the Cybermen?"

"No!"

The Master slammed the controls of the time manipulator and from it, a hole ripped in the middle of the room and three Cybermen stepped out from the hole, which then closed up. They looked at the Master first who was prepared for them.

"I am the Master and you will obey me," the Master sneered at the creatures before looking at the crowd and then the Doctor and UNIT's finest. "Kill them."

The Cybermen turned around and began to shoot. Immediately the crowd went from being frozen in fear to running for their lives as the Brigadier had no choice but to open the reception doors with the Cybermen giving chase.

"Bye Doctor," the Master glanced as he could see the Monk looking at him impatiently.

As they decided to go ahead and collect the TARDIS, on the assumption that the Cybermen would have mostly driven everyone outside, another hole ripped in front of them in the hallway. What came out of it gave both the Master and the Monk a fright for their lives.

"Halt," the single, glowing Dalek said, it's eyestalk taking in their visages, instantly recognising them. "You are an enemy of the Daleks. You will be exterminated."

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" Jo asked as she ran behind him, narrowly missing a shot from one of the Cybermen.

They were being driven into a forest, the both of them. Once they had been driven outside, they had found themselves seperated from the Brigadier, Benton, and Mike. The Cybermen following them still gave chase.

"I can explain." The Monk put his hands in surrender, looking terrified. The Master looked at him with disdain.

"Silence," the Dalek squawked. "You are an enemy of the Daleks."

"Daleks?" The Master raised an eyebrow. The Dalek's eyestalk shifted towards his gaze. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Mast-"

"Do not speak," it hissed at the Master. "Do not speak."

"I'm sorry if I offended you," the Master said in the most insincere of tones. "But I don't think you know who you're dealing with."

"Are you trying to get us killed?" the Monk hissed. "You might fancy a new body but I quite like the one I currently have, thank you very much."

The Dalek's eyestalk shifted back and forth between the two Time Lords. Both the Master and the Monk could see that it was in a state of indecision, but it was only momentary and then it spoke.

"Explain."

"As I was saying, I am the Master." The Time Lord began to move around the reception area a little. The Dalek pointed its ray gun, indicating its urge to shoot him on the spot if he tried to escape.

"The name is unimportant," the Dalek was unimpressed. "You are an enemy of the Dalek race."

"Ah but the name is important." The Master smiled. "And there's more to me than being an enemy of your race, Dalek."

"I do not understand," the Dalek said, getting further agitated by the Master's flippancy. "You will explain your significance and then you will die."

"This should be good," the Monk muttered, unconvinced by whatever the Master was attempting.

"As you wish." the Master smiled as he stepped towards the Dalek's personal space. The Dalek's ray gun was directly pointed to his chest. While the Monk showed visible signs of worry, the Master did not.

"I said EXPLAIN!"

"Do you know what this is?" The Master waved a strange gadget in direct view of the Dalek.

The Dalek blinked. It recognised it.

"It has no official name," the Master said as he began to move slightly from the Dalek. "But it has many good uses. For my purpose, it opens up time. Do you know what that means?"

The Dalek looked at him blankly. For a trace of a second, the Master thought it could detect the slightest hint of fear in the darkest corner of its eyestalk.

"It means that you are something from the Doctor's past," the Master looked at the device before looking back at the Dalek again. "Something that is long dead. Technically I have given you life again."

"Daleks do not express gratitude," the Dalek warned. It didn't like where the Master was trying to steer the conversation one bit.

"Your gratitude is of no interest to me," the Master sneered. "But you will spare our lives and you will obey me."

"Daleks do not -," the Dalek began to shout as the Master hit the creation with a beam from the manipulator. The Dalek was gone.

"What happened to it?" the Monk asked. "What did you do?"

"If I've done it right, I should've sent him outside," the Master went to peer out the window. In a forest not too far away, he could see a beam of light.

Closer to the building, he could see two Cybermen surrounded by soldiers. He spotted the Brigadier and Benton commanding the soldiers into position while Mike seemed to be heading for the forest. The Master presumed that the Captain was going to find the Doctor and Jo.

All that running and still there were times when Jo Grant wasn't used to it. Both she and the Doctor hadn't a choice but to keep running. None of them had any physical weapons against the lone Cybermen that was stalking them in the woods.

"I can't run anymore," Jo panted, exhausted. The Doctor caught her and sat down below enough trees to give them decent hiding. "I need to rest."

The Doctor had a far away look on his face. Jo looked into his eyes. Whatever he was thinking, she wanted to know. Now was not the time for holding back.

"What is it?" she finally asked. "There's more, isn't there?"

"I don't know, Jo," the Doctor said. "And that's what scares me. The Master, I can usually handle. The Monk, not really someone I take seriously."

"He shot Chinn, that's serious enough" Jo said, before remembering the breadbin with Rene and company inside that she had been carrying. "And the Master is responsible for this. But there's more. What are those creatures?"

"Cybermen," the Doctor said. "Old enemies of mine. Last time I saw them, they were trying to invade Earth but it was a different time. Everything was different then. The Master, he knew I had a history with them."

"Like the Autons?" Jo asked. "So, they're a specific set of Cybermen? Why do that?"

"Because he can," the Doctor muttered bitterly. "You saw that thing he had in his hands. It allows him to manipulate time. He's tearing out part of my own history to use against me. And he'll keep doing it until he destroys us."

"Unless we stop him and the Monk," Jo realised bleakly, looking ahead. "We have to go back to HQ."

"I'm afraid so." The Doctor stood up at the same as Jo did. As they did, the Cybermen who had been looking for them caught up with them.

"Doctor," Jo shouted out as she stepped back.

"Surrender," the Cybermen shouted before it attempted to fire at the both of them.

Before it got a clear shot at either the Doctor or Jo, a large heavy lump of wood swung round and bashed it's head off clean. The Cybermen sparked to bits before falling to the ground. Mike Yates stood there in front of the dead thing.

"Am I glad to see the both of you." Mike smiled as Jo went up and hugged him. She then pulled away.

"I say your timing, Mr Yates was impeccable." The Doctor smiled at Mike. Mike recognised that underneath that smile lay an ulterior motive.

"You want me to get you back inside HQ, don't you?" Mike said, resigned. He knew it was the only way to stop all this. The Master and that other fellow were the source of the problem.

"Hold back," Benton shouted as the few soldiers that had been sober enough to help against the Cybermen were finally able to shoot the two of them down.

"Benton," the Brigadier shouted as he saw something else coming outside. It was more Cybermen, at least four of them.

"You will all surrender," one of the Cybermen said. It seemed to be identifying itself as a leader for the others. "You will become like us."

"Take aim," Benton shouted as he began shooting at them himself. Getting nearer to the Brigadier, Benton realised. "We have to get back inside."

"I think the Master is aware of that," the Brigadier muttered. "Why else would he be sending more of those blasted Cybermen after us?"

"What about the Doctor and Miss Grant?" Benton asked. "Has Yates contacted you?"

The Brigadier had been caught up with trying to get Benton and his only soldiers into an ordered line that he had been distracted from contacting Mike. When he tried to speak through the radio, there was nothing.

"What is it?" Benton asked, seeing the worry on the Brigadier's face.

"There's no signal."

Inside, the Master and the Monk had left the reception and headed back into the laboratory. When the Master found opening the TARDIS impossible, he kicked the machine in frustration.

"Blast it," the Master shouted as he pressed his hands on the Doctor's TARDIS. "Everything's going wrong. My tissue compression eliminator is more or less defective and this stupid thing won't open."

"What do we do now?" the Monk said. "We can't keep sending Cybermen out there all night. They're going to come back in eventually. We need to get out of here."

"The only way we're getting out of here is through there." The Master pointed at the TARDIS in frustration.

"I thought you said that thing could barely move." The Monk eyed the TARDIS. "Maybe we should make a run for it."

"No," the Master smiled, an idea forming in his head. "You're right. This thing can barely move but it wasn't always like that. In fact, there was even a time where the Doctor's TARDIS wasn't as broken down as this one is now."

"You can't be serious," the Monk said, realising where the other Time Lord was going with all of this. "I'm all for a bit of mischief but even I'm not that reckless."

"And the odd murder," the Master countered. "Stevenson, Chinn. Don't come all the innocent with me, Monk. You want to get off this awful planet; this is the only option we have."

Before the Monk could protest, the Master scanned for another hot point in the laboratory and pressed the time manipulator.

Only this time, instead what he had intended to happen, didn't. A functioning TARDIS did not appear but two familiar enemies inside. Axons. The Monk looked at them confused.

"You again," the lead Axon scowled at the Master before pointing at its minion. "Kill him."

"Run," the Master yelled as both he and the Monk legged it out of the laboratory, trapping the Axons inside.

As they turned a corner, the Master yelped in pain. The manipulator was beginning to spark madly, nearly jumping out of his hands.

"Can't you make that thing stop?" asked the Monk impatiently as they turned a corner.

"Will you shut up and let me, aarrgh," the Master winced as the device hopped off the ground and exploded. However it did, it ripped up more than one time stream.

Another monster appeared — a Yeti and as soon as it saw both the Monk and the Master, it advanced towards them. The Monk shot at the creature with his gun but it was no use and the Axons had managed to smash through the laboratory door, joining alongside with the Yeti. Both Time Lords were surrounded.

"I hate to admit it," the Monk said. "But I wish the Doctor was here. He'd know what to do."

"Of all the people I would have to be surrounded with," the Master hissed. "I get you."

From the furthest corner of his ear, though, the Master could hear a familiar whirring sound. The time manipulator might now been melted scrap on the floor but at least his goal had been achieved. Now all he had to do was get away from the Yeti and the Axons and find the new TARDIS he had ripped time to get. Then he sensed an opportunity and used his TCE on the creatures.

The Brigadier and Benton were losing men. The Cybermen were gaining an advantage and soldiers were falling down like a stack of dominos. As a final one gave a painful scream before falling down, both the Brigadier and Benton spied an opportunity to get back inside HQ, with Benton pushing a Cybermen out of the way in order to get through.

Back in the forest, the Doctor, Jo, and Mike had been running from a Dalek who had appeared out of nowhere. Mike had shot at the thing a few times and apart from blinding it, he noticed the creature did not seem to stop.

"You will be exterminated," the Dalek hissed as it shot at trees mostly but narrowly missed the Doctor's head at one point as they scarpered into the black forest.

But that was the least of their worries. For while snowing was falling down hard and heavy, making it impossible to run too fast and avoid tripping up, the skies seemed darker than before with bolts of lightning.

"The sky." Mike's mouth gaped as he saw the devastating sight. "What's happening to the sky?"

"He's gone too far this time," the Doctor said gravely. "The Master. He's gonna destroy everything."

Jo had gotten seperated from the Doctor and Mike in the forest. She could still hear the Dalek's cries of exterminations as she ran further along. Then she heard something else.

"Doctor," another woman was calling out in the dark. She had been unconscious and was now disoriented as she wandered around the strange forest, alone and confused. "Where are you?"

"Over here," Jo shouted. She didn't know why but she could ration to herself that whoever was looking for the Doctor would not be a threat.

As Jo turned around, she could see the woman in plain view. Badly hurt, the woman was tall, had a pale complexion and fiery red hair. As the woman began to lose her footing, Jo ran to her side.

Outside of UNIT, the other TARDIS landed. As the younger Doctor stepped out of the machine with his male companion, they both gazed at the skies, dark and sinister, lightning amongst the heavy snow. Without saying anything else, both men headed inside past the Cybermen who had headed for the forest. Inside they had caught the attention both the Brigadier and Benton.

"Who are you?" The Brigadier looked at the tall, thin young man with the angular jaw.

"He's the Doctor." The Master slinked from the background as the Monk grabbed the young man by the neck and shoulder. "And he's coming with us."

- To Be Continued -


End file.
